What is a Hedgehog?

A hedgehog is any of the spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae, which is in order Erinaceomorpha. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera, found through parts of Europe, Asia, Africa and New Zealand (by introduction). There are no hedgehogs native to Australia, and no living species native to the Americas. Hedgehogs share distant ancestry with shrews (family Soricidae), with gymnures possibly being the intermediate link, and have changed little over the last 15 million years.[2] Like many of the first mammals they have adapted to a nocturnal,[3] insectivorous way of life. Hedgehogs’ spiny protection resembles that of the unrelated rodent porcupines and monotreme echidnas. Some people consider hedgehogs useful pets because they prey on many common garden pests. While on the hunt, they rely upon their senses of hearing and smell because their eyesight is weak. Hedgehogs have a coat of stiff, sharp spines. If attacked they will curl into a prickly and unappetizing ball that deters most predators. They usually sleep in this position during the day and awaken to search for food at night. These solitary animals typically couple only for mating. The young born each year, in litters ranging from one to eleven, remain [...]